Tacoma Community College

I appreciated the instructors and staff at TCC. There were multiple instances where I felt overwhelmed as a first-generation student, and they have always been encouraging. They are willing to work with you, as long as you put in the effort. A lot of my college experience so far has been in online courses. Prior to college, I had never taken any class online -- TCC made it very simple. Using Canvas before the pandemic was a common occurrence for most students, so most of the TCC population didn't take long to adjust. TCC also offers some open-resource classes. Meaning there is no need to purchase any textbooks or materials for that course. Definitely saved a lot of money for my peers and me. One expense I still recommend, however, is getting a planner. There are free planners on campus for students. However, they are rather small. So students that write larger, or aren't used to shorthand may consider buying their own. Alternatively, you could create a printable one in Word or Google Docs. Another notable mention for me is, that I've never seen the student housing. There are programs designed to make living affordable, but I haven't had experience with them. I would recommend looking into them if someone was a Low-Income student. There's also a food pantry for those in need.

I don't have much that I didn't enjoy. I had one professor that didn't appreciate me drawing so many visuals in class. They only ever brought it up passively to everyone in a class announcement. Essentially claiming it showed disinterest. Despite all visuals being related to the material. Other than that, I guess how many geese there are. They aren't an issue most of the year but before migration their lots of droppings from them. It's not inherently negative, but something to look out for while on campus.

I really enjoy the flexibility of learning online, from home.

Community college is a great resource to be able to try different fields of academia without accruing large amounts of debt.

I have been going through this school for 3 years now and it’s good. The teachers are helpful as long as you reach out to them for help. Also, there are many different activities always going on.

One thing I don’t like is some teachers have strict schedules so if you need help and they don’t give extra credit or let you catch up, you're stuck.

I am graduating from TCC with a Pre-Nursing Associate's while being enrolled at Curtis Senior High School. Due to the pandemic, I was mostly online. When I did have an in-person class, the professors were kind and understanding. As long as you put in the effort, the teachers respected you and were willing to work with scheduling conflicts. I went to counseling at TCC, which helped me through a hard life transition, and helped me stay afloat with my grades. The staff are amazing, and the campus is well-maintained and clean.

Parking can be difficult so get a parking permit and arrive early to class.

I did fully online at TCC and they were very helpful when it came to computer/technical errors, and the teachers were mostly well-versed in online education.

They may take a while to respond and it is hard to work on big projects with other students.

TCC changed my life and helped me become the student I am.